RCH team member Jodi Dobson, REDHS health promotion officer Rachael Windridge, Agnico Eagle director of environment and sustainability Felicia Binks, Agnico Eagle manager of environment and community Trudi Jackson, RCH co-ordinator Amanda Logie and RCH counsellor Bern Wright.
Photo by
Lua Ikenasio
Rochester Community House has officially launched a new partnership with Agnico Eagle to support ongoing mental health services for the local community.
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Under Agnico Eagle’s Community Partnership Program, the organisation’s mental health program will receive funding support over the next 12 months.
RCH was the first local organisation to employ a dedicated mental health support worker following the 2022 floods.
Thanks to support from various funding bodies, counsellor Bern Wright has been working closely with the Rochester community over the past four years.
RCH co-ordinator Amanda Logie thanked Agnico Eagle for its contribution, ensuring Ms Wright’s work can continue.
“I would like to acknowledge and thank Agnico Eagle Fosterville Goldmine for their valuable support,” she said.
“Your contribution has played an important role in ensuring that we can continue the important work that Bern does here, for another 12 months.
“Thank you doesn't actually even seem enough for what (Bern has) done for our community, since the 2022 flood. We just wouldn’t have been able to support the community the way that we have.”
Community members celebrated the launch of the mental health program with a high tea.
Photo by
Lua Ikenasio
To celebrate the partnership, community members gathered for a high tea event, where speakers reflected on the impact of mental health initiatives in the years since the 2022 floods.
They shared stories of recovery and resilience and highlighted how Ms Wright’s support had helped individuals and families navigate difficult times.
Health promotion officer Rachael Windridge for Rochester and Elmore District Health Service also spoke about her collaboration with Ms Wright on various wellbeing initiatives, including the Calm Collective group program.
“When I met Bern in 2024, we discussed what the community needed,” she said.
“We decided that we would give groups a go ... we would provide them some dinner and teach them coping skills and get them connected in with each other.
“It was amazing to see ... as the group went on, you could see friendships blossoming.”
REDHS health promotion officer Rachael Windridge spoke to guests about the inception of the Calm Collective group program.
Photo by
Lua Ikenasio
Alongside the Calm Collective, they have also run coffee, craft and create, and Cooking for One sessions.
Together, these initiatives have directly reached around 125 community members, with many more indirectly supported through shared knowledge and community connections.
RCH counsellor Bern Wright thanked the community.
Photo by
Lua Ikenasio
Ms Wright said that encouraging people to access counselling remained a key focus of the Mental Health Program, noting that trauma recovery was a long-term process.
“One of my big things is breaking down the barriers of counselling ... with the right person it can be helpful,” she said.
“What we know is that at least five to seven years after a major incident like a flood, trauma is still there.
“I absolutely object to brief therapy ... the process of managing or dealing with what has happened in our life takes time.”
With further funding secured through Agnico Eagle, Ms Wright and Ms Windridge will continue delivering one-on-one counselling and community wellbeing programs across Rochester.
Agnico Eagle director of environment and sustainability Felicia Binks shared a few words on the day.
Photo by
Lua Ikenasio
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